High-Stakes “Gamble” or Worthwhile Venture?: Four Students Who Sat Schols

“Associated with Trinity Monday, Commons in the Dining Hall, and, well, Normal People, Trinity’s Foundation Scholarship (Schols) is the most prestigious undergraduate scholarship in Ireland. Upon Trinity’s inception in 1592, the Foundation Charter stated that the Body Corporate would include the Provost, the Fellows, and the Scholars. The process of becoming a Scholar is undertaken by many, yet achieved by few. Senior Fresh students across all disciplines are eligible to sit the annual scholarship exams in January, in which they must sit four exams in their subject area and achieve an average grade of 70 (First Class Honours) or above. No grade may be under 65, and at least two of the four grades must be at 70 or higher. Those who achieve Schols gain a myriad of privileges. These include free accommodation for nine months of the year, a free evening meal every weekday in the Dining Hall (Commons), and free tuition. Scholars also receive an annual stipend of €253.95 and may use the post-nominal letters “Sch.”, which are printed on their degree. A spokesperson for College told The University Times that Schols saw a 10% increase in student engagement for the 2025/26 year. 1011 eligible students confirmed their intention to sit the exams this year. Last year, the number was 919. The University Times followed four Senior Fresh students – Owen Whelan, Emma Wilson, Dana Khartabil, and Sergio Kelly Tamargo – who tried for the scholarship. Coming from various academic disciplines, the students expressed both distinct and shared motivations for sitting the exams. Whelan, a student in Physical Sciences, expressed that Schols would “make a huge difference”, highlighting the free meals and accommodation. His current commute to College is over an hour long. “I suppose it would mean just a lot of peace of mind, I guess, because you wouldn’t be worrying about things like rent and food most of the time”. Wilson, a Law and History student, stated that, alongside the financial benefits, they sat Schols “to be a part of the long history of Trinity scholars”. Khartabil, another Physical Sciences student, stated: “I would just be disappointed if I didn’t give it a shot…anything could happen”. Medicine student Kelly Tamargo shared that his father, a Trinity alumnus, told him about the exams. Only learning about Schols in his fourth year, Kelly Tamargo’s father didn’t have a chance to attempt them himself, but encouraged Kelly Tamargo to sit them. Since then, he had always wanted to. “It’s an achievement, really”. In terms of the studying process, the majority of students shared the difficulties they faced with balancing coursework, time with family over the winter holidays, and studying. Whelan stated that while in theory, Schols emphasises the “individual exploration” of topics outside of the core curriculum, in practice, this is less feasible. Most of his time was spent doing lab reports, restricting his capacity for outside learning. “I just did not have the time or space or environment to be able to do that individual exploration”. Despite spending the majority of his time on coursework, Whelan stated he received no feedback on assignments. This made studying for Schols difficult and “incompatible” with a “holistic understanding” of his subject area, he said. “I suppose the sentiment I got was that I was putting all my time and effort into something I would get zero educational value out of”. Wilson started studying for the exam in early September, only taking a day off for Christmas. “Studying for the exam was very tough, I’m not gonna lie and say it was easy”, they shared. “It was honestly quite miserable”. Spending much of their time during Michaelmas Term in the library, they said, “I had to give up a good amount of my social life.” Each faculty creates its own Schols papers, with many requiring individual exploration or providing Schols-specific reading lists. Information sessions were held by each faculty throughout the beginning of Michaelmas term to convey the Schols requirements. The students we spoke to expressed that this information was varied in its clarity and accessibility. Wilson said that “there was a good amount of information” provided about the exams; however, they mentioned that information sessions “could have been a little better advertised, especially on the history side of things”. They expressed that the bulk of information about the history exam is through “word of mouth”, making clear communication and guidance difficult. “If you knew people, or if you were in the right societies, you had a better shot at getting advice, and I thought that was kind of bad”. Wilson shared that they only became aware of an advice session for History due to their membership in the History Society, whereas the Law School did a “better job” with outreach. “We were told in no uncertain terms to study everything”, stated Kelly Tamargo. Advice from the Medicine faculty was, “If you’re not sure if it’s right, don’t write it…That’s kind of everything [we were] told.” Both the faculty and current scholars of Medicine somewhat advised against sitting Schols, according to Kelly Tamargo. He explained that Hilary term for Senior Fresh medical students is split into two blocks, both of which are “really, really intensive”. “We’re doing basically a whole semester of content in six weeks.” As such, the advice given to medical students was “if you’re struggling, don’t sit Schols”. During exam week itself, all four students acknowledged a noticeable number of empty seats in the exam hall. This is despite the previously noted 10% increase in student engagement. The University Times has reached out to College for comment on the final turnout for the exams. Among his course peers, Whelan described the atmosphere as “positive” during exams. “You’re all in the same boat, and it helps”. After months of eager anticipation, the students found themselves gathered in Front Square, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Provost Linda Doyle. Annually on Trinity Monday, the new Scholars are announced by the Provost at 10 am from the steps of the Public Theatre. This year, Trinity Monday fell on April 20th, over four months following the sitting of the Scholarship examinations. Sunshine and anticipation filled Front Square as the time approached 10 am. Finally, the doors of the Public Theatre opened to reveal the colourful Board of College dressed in full academic gowns and hoods. Doyle began by announcing the newly elected Fellows, distinguished academic staff elected to the Body Corporate as the highest honour for excellence in research, teaching, and service to the College. This announcement was followed by the highly anticipated Scholar announcements. 89 new Scholars were announced, an increase from the 72 awarded last year. Wilson and Kelly Tamargo were two of the 89 students who received the scholarship on April 20th in Front Square. Trinity Monday was a busy day for the newly elected Scholars. After being dressed in robes and congratulated by their respective faculties, Scholars attended a garden party at the Provost’s campus residence. This was followed by an age-old tradition in Front Square: a Scholars versus Fellows game of marbles. Scholars were then directed to the GMB, where they received information, including accommodation details for next term. The final event of Trinity Monday was a dinner in the Dining Hall, beginning at 8 pm and continuing until 11 pm. This dinner is known as the Scholars and Fellows of the Decade Dinner. Scholars of each previous decade are invited, and this year’s dinner saw Scholars from 2016, 2006, and even 1956 in attendance. Wilson radiated happiness and gratitude while speaking to The University Times about their Schols achievement, describing the feeling of hearing their name being called out as “a bit surreal”. “It was mostly relief and obviously a lot of joy.” Of the four Law and History students who sat Schols this year, three achieved it. “There [are] only nine of us as well, so now a third of us are Scholars.” Wilson reflected on their experience, noting that, “A big part of [Schols] is about the learning, and the community that’s built around taking the exams…it’s worth taking for anyone that just wants to give it a shot or get more into their degree, and it’s a nice tradition for people who do get it and good for the practice of academics for those who don’t”. “Even the people that I’ve spoken to that didn’t get the scholarship have all told me that they don’t regret taking it.” When asked what their message to their September self would be, Wilson took a long, pensive pause. After a moment, they said, “There’s no point in not trying”. “There are obviously parts of it where, you know, you get imposter syndrome, and you’re like, I’m never gonna get it…but you never know unless you try”, they continued. “That would have been helpful to hear when I was in the thick of it”. For Kelly Tamargo, Trinity Monday began in the early hours of the morning. At 5 am, he boarded a flight from Spain, where he had completed an Ironman Triathlon the day before. Making it to Front Square in time for the announcement of his achievement, the day would not come to a close for him until 11 pm, following the aforementioned Scholars of the Decade Dinner. “I didn’t really even hear my name being called out because I thought, ‘that would never be me’…when my friends started pounding on me, I realised it was me.” Speaking to The University Times before becoming a Scholar, Kelly Tamargo expressed, “I’m really happy I did Schols…since a young age, I wanted to go to Trinity, and I wanted to do Schols.” “Getting Schols would be amazing, but I think maybe even the biggest achievement is actually just sitting it”, Kelly Tamargo shared. Of the students’ reflections, potential areas of reform and contentions regarding the institution of Schols were highlighted. These included the timing of the examinations, balancing academics, and the ethical issue of accessing College supports through such an acutely competitive system. Due to changes made to the Trinity calendar this year, teaching began one week later than usual, meaning that the time between the end of Michaelmas term and the beginning of Schols was reduced by one week. Whelan commented that this “didn’t help” the study process. “We had assignments due in the week between the end of teaching and exams. So, when they’re doing that, a week does make a huge difference”. The exams took place from the 5th to the 9th of January, which Kelly Tamargo shared coincided with Spanish Christmas, a tradition that his family celebrates. “The timing wasn’t ideal”, he shared. Wilson expressed that the exams were “a little bit too close to Christmas”. “[S]tarting on the fifth of January, five days after New Year, I think is a bit diabolical”, they commented. “I think it probably would have been better a week later. But then there’s a whole problem of going back to college and having no breaks. So yeah, the timing’s a bit bad.” Whelan said he wouldn’t change anything about “the exams themselves and … what they’re trying to assess”. However, he believes “more thought needs to be put into the complete experience of a student” during the preparation period for Schols. If the Physics School had clearer communication to get a better understanding of “the complete workload and complete expectations of an individual student, it might make it easier to strive for”, he said. There is a common narrative surrounding Schols that certain courses are “easier” to obtain the scholarship in than others. Kelly Tamargo acknowledged this to some effect, commenting that, “Classics barely gets a scholar. It gets a scholar every few years.” This is in contrast to courses such as Biological and Biomedical Sciences or Law, which reliably get numerous scholars every year. “If you’re in a smaller faculty, it doesn’t mean that you should get [less of a] chance,” Kelly Tamargo said. The fact that there is no workable way to standardise grade thresholds across faculties “is kind of an issue”, he said. When asked what she would change about Schols, Khartabil remarked, “Schols is an evil thing”. Continuing, she compared the exam to “a lottery or…a gamble” that “toy[s] with people’s mental health”. Amidst a housing and cost-of-living crisis, Khartabil stated that College should take an active role in supporting students, “instead of making this support very difficult to obtain” through a highly competitive and rarely contested process. While she doesn’t believe the examinations should be abolished as they are optional for students to take, she expressed that the stakes should perhaps be lowered. Khartabil’s critique comes after data found by a University Times investigation revealed that privately-educated students were 2.5x more likely to receive the scholarship. It raises the question of whether the examinations are in place to provide genuine financial support, or perhaps simply an accolade that students attempt for its prestige. Trinity currently offers limited financial aid and scholarship opportunities outside of the Foundation Scholarship. When asked if he believes that the threshold for achieving Schols should be lowered, Kelly Tamargo’s opinion was that Schols “is definitely difficult…I’m not disagreeing with that. However…it’s meant to be incredible academic excellence. So you can’t really be expecting it to be anything less than that”. The establishment of the Non-Foundation Scholarship was a positive step to “make [Schols] more fair”, considering its competitiveness, according to Kelly Tamargo. The Non-Foundation Scholarship was established to circumvent the Charter’s rule that there may only be seventy Scholars. Both Foundation Scholars and Non-Foundation Scholars get the same privileges and entitlements, with the only real distinction being that Foundation Scholars have a formal right to vote on certain changes to the Statute of the University. However, this carries less weight than it did historically. As such, the Non-Foundation Scholarship was used as a means of awarding merit to students whom College did not wish to give enfranchisement to, such as women, Catholics, and those not studying the traditional courses of Theology, Philosophy, or Classics. The institution of Schols has evolved before, and may possibly evolve further in the future in response to certain critiques against it, as highlighted above. Nevertheless, as summer break begins, and a new cohort of incoming Senior Fresh students begin the countdown to Schols, perhaps the words of advice and testimonials of their peers may guide them on their way.

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